Reviews / Xtreme CTX - Custom PC

Xtreme CTX

Quotes from the review below, or read the full review in the July 2006 issue of Custom PC

"Rock has chiselled itself a niche somewhere between premium bespoke PC manufacturers such as Voodoo and everyday box shifters. It seems like a successful course to plot, considering that Rock’s Xtreme CT (see Issue 29, P40) has been our Elite-listed laptop for a few months now. However, the CT is already under threat-from within Rock’s own ranks. Rock’s latest offering, reassuringly adding an X to its name, employs a similar formula, but adds a dual-core processor and the latest Ati Mobility Radeon X1800XT graphics to the hardware spec..."

"With a top-of-the-range Core Duo at the helm, and the latest mobile graphics from Ati, we expected the Xtreme CTX to ace our benchmarks in every category. We’ve already been impressed by Core Duo, as in the case of Evesham’s Voyager C550 (see Issue 31, P42), but the Rock really showcases what this processor can do. In our 2D Media Benchmarks 2005, the overall score was 16 per cent faster than that of our reference 2.8GHz Pentium D 820 – quite a feat for a laptop, and better than Alienware’s FX 57- equipped Aurora m 7700 (Issue 31, P40)..."

"The CTX can handle virtually all of the latest games at high resolutions with decent quality settings. This is incredible, considering what a joke laptop gaming was a few years ago, and how relatively svelte the CTX is compared with slabs such as Alienware’s Aurora m7700..."

"It’s also very capable when it comes to everyday 2D applications, so it’s a great general-purpose desktop replacement. Despite the high price,with its top-of-the-range components, the CTX should last you for a few years. We suggest choosing the cheaper screen, which matches the performance of the GPU, and opting for 2GB of RAM from the outset (£146.88 extra), since many games find this beneficial. Otherwise, Rock’s Xtreme CTX is one of the best gaming laptops around – until the CTXX comes along..."

Read the full review in the July 2006 issue of Custom PC

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